Imagination of the Child

Studio philosophy

'The best illustrators are not always the most talented in terms of artistic ability. You need an extra something in your character and a way of looking at the world that is personal to you'.

Quentin Blake

'I've seen so many gifted people who were natural illustrators who didn't have technical facility, but to me they had a great treasure. They had what you can't learn. You can draw better by practicing, but you can never learn that other intuitive quality.'

Maurice Sendak

Two quotes from possibly the most successful and well known illustrators of recent times. Their lengthy careers continue still with ongoing sales and publication of their work.

William Steig, the American author and illustrator best known for 'Shrek' didn't start writing and illustrating children's books until he was in his sixties. Compelling proof that you can tap into that childhood sense of inventiveness at any time in your life. Where does that extra something come from? That intuitive quality? It most certainly starts when we are children, with the books we read, the pictures, the films and animations we see as children. They stay with us forever, and play a seminal role in the development of our imaginations.

Project brief

If you lost your memory could you piece together your past by looking at old comic books and picture books like the character in Umberto Eco's recent novel 'Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana'?

Taking the theme ' First Experiences' develop a sequence of narrative images and words. You can either take a given text or write your own. The finished piece of work can be a book, moving image, or an interactive digital outcome. The media choice will be defined by the nature of your project. It's your version of the text as an illustrator. It's your interpretation. It's why you are an active partner in the book, not a mere echo of the author.

'To be an illustrator is to be a participant, someone who has something to say as important as the writer of the book - occasionally something even more important'.